
Qass. 
Book. 



T) i 



^^|^^?>^^. 



MMMM^M 



THE LESSONS OF THE HOUR,. 



t^ 



i ilSSiiiSi 



THE DEATH 






PUKSIDKNT LINCOLN, 

DELIVERED IN THE 

FIRST PRESBYTEPiIAN CHUllCH, 

April i9th, 1865, 
BY REV. ROBERT DAVIDSON, D. D. 



1 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



SECOND EDITION. 



IIUMIXGTO.V : LOXG-ISLAXDEU PFa'CT. 



m 






OJSh 









Huntington, April 19, r8o3 

Dr. Davidson— Rev. and Dear SiR:--We, the undersigned, thinking that ihe 
excellent discourse delivered by you this day to "the great congresaiion," on ihe d-^sih 
ot our lamented Chief Magistrate, Abraham Lincoln, should have a siill more ex- 
tended influence, do respectfully ask it of you for publication. 

Geo. II. Shepard, S. C. Hatfort., 

John J. Wei.ls, Isaac Rouers, 

RoBT. Rogers, Wm. J. Wood, 

Z. Ketcham, Geo VV. Shith, 

Geo. a. Scudder, S. VVoodhcll, 

John Hopper, J- R- R-olph, 
G. W. Eldkidc-e. 



Huntington, April 20, iSGj. 

Gentl2.men: — The discourse of which you ask the publication, ig placed at your 
disposal. Il is scarcely necessary to observe that the haste and pressure utiilwr vvliich 
it was unavoidably prepared, should exempt it Irom that severe criticiMu lo wbicli 
elaborate and finished compositions are supposed to be liable. l[ the publication may 
subserve any useful purpose, i shall be satisfied. 

Yours Respectfully, R. DAVID.SON. 

Messrs. Shepard, J-'cudder, SjMiTH,nnd others. 




TllE LESSONS OF THE HOUR. 



•' And the viciciv ilnii day was luiiied into mourning unto all ibe people." — 2Sam, 

*ix a. 

It wouM be su|vifiiioi)s !o aliempl, on the present occasion, lo be- 
speak your ailpniion, to disarm your prejodices, or lo enlist vour syrn- 
pathy. All that is already done. You have no prejudices to be 
disarmed, your sympalliies are engaged, your alleniion is awalcened. 
A more powerlul speaker, a more convincing orator, has spoken, and 
at this- iriomeni spealcs, with more ilian liuman eleqiuence, at once lb' 
your hearts, ap.d to the hearts of thirty millions of people. Carried' on 
the lightning's vvi;i2, the mournful intelligence has spfead from one 
end ot the continent to the oilier, and there is but one sentiment eVery 
where. At liiii-T hour, wlien the sad obsequies are being conducted in 
the Federal City, simulianeously, in thirty thousand churches, thirty 
thousand pulpils are attempting to interpret the voice of Providence, 
and to direct into a pious channel the (ears of a mourning nation. 

Party clarmor is lor the liine hushed. Party names are not, and 
ought not, 10 be mentioned. To day there is but one parly in the land, 
that U, the party oi" pairiotism. No one thinks, no one speaks, of any 
tiling else than the calamity which has befallen us. All seem over, 
whflnied by t!ie greatness of a sorrow for which words are inadequate. 
All are prompt to offer tiieir tribute of praise to our late lamented and 
beloved President ; and none more so than his tormer political oppo- 
nents. They who lent no aid to his first elevation lo office, have been 
satisfied, by a severe trial, of his honesty of purpose, his conscientious- 
ness, his integrity, his- pure patriotisnv, his sagacity, his breadth of 
statesmanship, his candid appieciaiion of tlie drift of events, his equi- 
librium between the extremes of conservatism and progress, his firm 
jirappling with the root, the tap-root, of the national troubles, his free- 
diim froiri vindictiveness, his humahe and conciliatory spirit, his pacific 
plans, just about to flower into development. They have seen till this, 
and have watched his impartial hand adjusting the balances for the last 
four years, impressing his own views on the policy of the country, and 
finally condiicting us out of unprecedented diffibulties and perils ; and 
they have candidly acknowledged (I quote their very language,) that 
"liteie i> no man who can occupy his flaco, so strong in the confidencs 



of (he pfiitple, so eaMiP.>l io do ii;;ht, um! .-o ai.si 'U-. !o 'i i j i>iicp to a,'!.'"^" 
And lirif is a similar ailcbtalioii piMunaiiiiji' by authority from (he 
iii:ih«>si <GurC'^ : " B li-^^'inn^ Abijaiiam Livcoln, as a luler, (o havn 
been <i;ivpnip(! hy jiairioiic l^o:iv!;-^, ho:icsi\' oi |)iirp)-?e, aaJ au elevated' 
appreci^iiioii o! nv- ^ravc and rt\srnt).siblti duiies iiiijD^rtd upon him in 
ifie jjreaiivst cri-is id our coiml ry 's hi'-'ory — co^rKiMiidiii^ in so iiVi^iM a 
degree the c.v fi l^nce 'd' liie l,>v.il people ol liie n.iiioa — immI t'\iiihiiinu 
in "the recent evcnis uluch hcd culmi.'KUrd in ihi; ddvsnfall of the 
rebellion, a wise, lorbearini; and riia^i-.aiiimoiis >ia'e>sm;U)S)ii|), iIik px- 
croise of which j^ave such hopeful protni-e of a spi cdv and perlec.i 
restoration of the aatioDal Union in the t-pirit and principles upon vvhi«:li 
it was founded, we reijard his sad pwc] and iiniin>e!y deciase u,>, a grwal' 
misfortune to the whole country." i" 

1 prefer to repeat coinniendalions from such dihinte.-esled .souioeM 
rather than ofTer any of uiy own. 

Wliat are the Lessons of ths Hour ? 

How hath God mulli()lied hi.s uiementoes. and ^'iven u> line upoir 
line !' Mow many have we seen, th-f favorites of lor'u »p, admired auci 
envied by the crovvd, in the very sprint,^ lide ot iheir i^'reatness, culmi- 
nating to the meridian of their glory, " haste to their snuing, like au 
exhalation of the evenincr," quenched in fiortemous ni^hl ! 'inhere was 
Herod, smitten with a loathsome disease in llie very hei^di! of popular 
applause. There was Fiesco, flus'ied wit.n the succphs of ids ambitious 
plans, stepping off a plank and dragged down by the weight ot his 
armor into the d>ocl<, to ri^e no more. Tliere was tiie Princess Chin-- 
lolte, the youthful wife of Leopold, the probable queen of Great Briiian, 
suddenly carried to ihe grave amid the sincere grief of the whole 
people ;"" who appeared," in Robert Hall's eloquent language, '• lo 
have been placed on the pinnacle ol society f->r the exor^rss ntirpose of 
rendering her fall tlis more conspicuous. The Deity himself adorned' 
the victim with his own hands. He permitted her to toncir whalevf-r 
this sublunary sG?.iie presents thai is nsost atliac:ive and alluring, bur 
lo graap nothing ; and after conducting her to an efninence whence .'he 
could survey all the glories of empire as her destined possession, closed 
her eyes in death.":!: There was tluskisson, elated by the restored 
smiles of princely favor, crushed and mangled beneath an advancing 
train. There was the accomplished Lagare, hurried out of life by a 
rapid malady soon after taking the seals of oflice. There was Gilmer 
snatched from the council board within a brief week from his elevation, 
hy the explosion of the great cannon on [hs Princeton. And time would 
fail me to enumerate, only by name, the brave men who have t^allen in 
iheir country's cause, since the commencement of this war, beginning 
with Col. Ellsworihj the first martyr, down to Col. Hugh Janeway, 
buried last week. 

•' The paths of Glory lead but to the grave." 

Three times has the Capitol of this nation been draped in mourning 



Purdr. ■''■Tamtmnv Hail. 



'THK'L'R-iSoN.S OF Till-: IDf'K. 5 

't)r I'lc siiUc-n athJ un.^xpec'rJ i|,Mni<e ol iln^ Cliiol Magi-'rate. 

" Iiisaiiatc- A o'ler I coul'l not once suffice ? 

'I'liiice ri-vv ihy slintl, uml thnc.-,- our peace waa slain." 

[ii 1841 (lennrai Hanison was carried into tlie Presidential Chair on 
'llift lUMuilluou^ tide of !)r)piilar a|)()Ui{jse. No voice vvus heard bul thai 
of (rii)iuiil coni^ralulaiiori. It vv<is coiifi lently expected tliat a new order 

■ of ihiiijrs was now lo Ije wjinessful ; thai the dangers and difficulties 
und e(i(t)arrassfnentx'=! of the country were l)appily surmounted ; that the 
I'oliiic'il s';a was calmed, and all would go on prosperously and smoothly. 
In a few brief weeks all was alarm and agitation. The Chair was 
•'inpty ; l>ow it was refilled history will say. A new policy was intro. 
duced ; every thing was once more thrown into confusion ; wars and 
rumors of wars camelhick upon the breeze; then was paved the way 
for ihe very troubles whicii coiitintied fur years to fill us with dismay. 
Was it that we had counted too liMcli on ■' Man whose breath is in his 
nostrils," and liad forgotten One above who should have been consulted ? 
Did we think that we had now our favorite safely in oflice, and we 

■aiiirlit (lety chance and change ? [low easy was it for the Almighty 
i\n blow upon our work, and to " hiss for the fly" from the uttermost 
■part of the land ! In a tnomeiit the counsels of the wise were turned 
into foolishness, and the heart of the people was taken away. 

Not greatly di.ssiniilar w;is the pa>iiion of the country in 1850. A 
popular cliieitain, Gboera! T.iylor, was raised lo the highest oflice in 
she nation's gift, as it were by acclamation. Veteran statesmen were 
■Sft aside to inake way for the elevaiion of a man whose life had been 
s()Pnt in camps, lie was the " available" candidate. He was the 
.pf>ople'"s choice. Aien of all prirlies united their votes on him. And 
now, under tlie rule of a [Hire patriot and an honest. man, what glowing 
(Irearns of the fuiure weje indulged ! One might think the Golden Ago 
was al)oiJl lo return a. id l)l('ss the huid. Si.xteen short n)ooiis ran their 

■ career, and this popular chief, this pure patriot, this upright man, was 
suddenly gathered to his fathers. The riderless war horse was led after 
the liearse of liim who never should mount his back again. A third 
lime the blow has fallen. But tin's last insiarxe was the n.ost horrit)le 
of all, fro(n its cause and circumstances. Never has ihe nation sus- 
tained such a shock. Never before in our history has such a crime 
occurred. Miilnito the annals ol tlie nation have been unstained by so 
|)arricidal a blow. And, as if to burn in on our minds the solemn les- 
son of the instability of all human plans and honors, the blow fell just 
in the moment of exultation ; when ihe people were indulging in 
boundless hilarity ; vviien the rebellion seemed about lo be crushed, and 
the prospect of peace was brightening in the hoiizon ; when the flag, 
the identical flag, of Sumter was run up again to its staff on the fourth 
anniversary of its being lowered ; when the President saw the literal 
and coni|)lete fulfillment of his inaugural pledge, that he would bend all 
his efiorts to recover, hold, occupy and possess, ihe foris, arsenals, navy 
yards and seaports which had been traitorously wrested from the 
national control ; when he vvas entitled to expect the coisunimalion of 

• bis loudest hopes, ibe pacification of ihe country, the rest'Tation of in*; 



^ 'niE l.E-iSO^S OF THE.KCCa 

Union, and llie c..)mtnefice'neiit of a new era of natiotvil prospetlfy an^i 
inBuence, lo which ab'i'niutely no li'uits cad bo set. This was the mo. 
rnent, so brilliant, so inierestiiij/, so <r!orinii>!, when humati anibitiora 
seemed to have attainerl tis top and crown, wheu there was nothing 
hardly left to desire, this was the selected moment of all mornerits, for 
Death, who " loves a shintnc; mark," at one relentless stroke, to pros, 
trale his illustrious victim with all his hlossomin" honors to the dust. 
" His sun went down at noon, while it was yei day," — went down io 
tears and blood. 

By & striking coincidence, some verses have just been brou^^ht to 
light, which were favorites with Mr. Lincoln, and whose mournful rinij 
seem to have contained some presa<i;e of his own di-:mal faie. Whil<* 
Mr. Carpenter, the distin<Tuished arlist, was engaged un his Limancipa- 
tion Picture, and the President was s.''Etini:f for his likeness, he repeated? 
a poem which had in early life made a dppp impression on him, but ot 
ihe authorship of which he was injnorant.* At M r. Carpenter's re(juesit 
he dictated it to him. The whole is too long lo introduce here, hut th*? 
i§rsl and last stanzas are peculiarly apropos lo our preseol suhjf-cl. 

Oh, why shnulfi the spirit of moiia) bp proud ? 
I»ike a swifi, fleeiing tnetcor, a faat-flyinjj elouJ, 
A flash of the lightning, a br-eak of the wave, 
;He passelh from hfe to his real in ihe grave. 

The leaves of the oak and ihe willow shall fade. 

Be pcatiered around and together be laid ; 

And the young and the oldj-and the low and the high 

Shall moulder to dust and togeiher shall lie. . 

The hand oFthe king that the sceptre hath borne ; 
The brow of the priest ihat the mitre hath worn ; 
The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave. 
Are hidden and lust ia the dejiihs ot the grave. 

'Tis the wink of an eye, 'tis the draught ofa breath ; 
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death, 
From the gilded saloon to the hier and the shroud — 
lOh why should live spirit of mortal be proud ? 

How touching now is the allusion in the last istanEa, the swiA tran™ 
fiilion " from the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud !" What a 
nevv and sad emphasis they have ! 

II. Another lesson taught by this melancholy occasion, is, our De- 
pendence on a Higher Power. 

The tendency to self-esteem and vain glory is deeply seated and 
world-wide. It is illustrated in the boast of the Chaldean monarch — 
" Is not this jireat Babylon which I have built (or my royal palace, by 
the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty!" That 
moment be was smitten with the loss of reason, a species of lycanthropy, 
and for seven years was excluded from civilized habitations, till he 
should know " that the Most High ruleth in the kingdoin of men, and 

* The author was Widi.Tm Knox, of Edinburgh, who died in 18^5, at t.'ie age o» 
.36. 'Jhc verses ar^ to be found in " Scotia's Hnrds," edj'ed bv R. Carter, of N. York. 



.oiveth it to whomsoever h^^ will." 'i'l.e Alheisi Muy.-ntii.s f.iiui.l.es 
^nollur ilUisiraiioii : 

" Mv own riiilit ami and swonJ succppiI tny sirokt- ! 
'I'lie only t;njs M <-/.«- n I ius will iriv..ke;" 

Nor is it ill royal l)o.son)s alone this passion finds a liornp. IJumUU>r 



.pe 



rsons 



id meaner eraoloymeiils harbor llie same selt.t;onc;ei 

" Slaves l)L'il(l their little Cahylons of siTa«-, 
Kcho I hi:- proud Assyria n in ilieir heart?, 
And ciy, behold the wonders of my miglii !'' 

Siicli persons rpsemlile itinse foolish .idolaters mentioned in holy ^crip. 

■ture, who "sacrifice unto their net, and burp incen>^e tinlo ihpir own 

drau, because hy liien) iheir portion is plenteous." {Hab. i. 10.) 

The American people have not been innocent in this reirard.^ We 

•have been prone to forjrpt oijr dependence on God, our Faliiers' Uod, 
and we havft magnified^the work ot our own hands. We relied fondly 

■on our paper Constitution, as if that was a palladium perfectly unas. 

^sailable. ' We could not believe that men who had taken oaths to sup- 
port the Constitution could recklessly subvert it. Wr had been .so 
accustoiTied tosee the public quietly submit to the expressed will ot 
.majorities, that the resistance or secession of a disapi-oinied minority 
never entered into o.ir calculations. And yet the words of old wi-dum 
-might have lessoned us. 

" Oaths are but words, and words but wind, 
Too feeble instruments to bind;' 

We fancied the old memories of revolutionary heroism could not be 
.easilv fui-olten, nor.ihe common fla- under whose folds that heroism 
had "been" displayed, deliberately abandoned or f^red on. VV e were 
proud of our statesmanship, to keep us in peace among oursehes and 
lo save us from foreii,n. embroilments. We were r aher proud of bol. 
Win- .France, and hectoring Austria, that "little patch on the earths 
surface " We thouaht ourselves a match for the world in arms. And 
when civil war actually broke out, we were of the opinion nothing 
.could resist our military skill and numerous levies Ninety days 
were enough, in the opinion of our first statesmen. So the defeat at 
Bull Run came, filling us with consternation and shame. 1 h'^n we 
were tau-ht that the battle is not always to the strong ; that God is 
,not always "on the .side of the strong battalions," and that an army 
without experience, without presence of mind, and without competent 
.leaders is no better than an undisciplined mob. We were taught by 
•that disaster and by others, by a protracted and stubborn ccnle.st, and 
■ b.v the profuse expenditure of precious treasure and moi-p precious 
blood, that God is an element it is net safe to leave out in military cal- 
culations. That we have profited somewhat by our severe tutoring, that 
the lesson has not been altogether thrown away upon us, may be infer- 
red from the universal toge of the press, and of public speeches and 
dutions; and from the significant fact, so quietly and nouselessly 



.reso 



•lii-oiia!,; ;it;0()i tis !() liJivc aUriiclotl lilil>^ rpaiafl-:. i)ii'i c/M-iinn'-v ?..j 
<!i-n[)|)rol);ili()t). iliitl our iit^w cnii;a<ip, inslHiid of ;i ln'tillit-u (Jo'Jdfss of 
iLfbf^il", l)pars liii- h'^fnil, "Jn God u k ti;.u>t." 

Anil how siiiinully has ihe Avisilmn ol ilie |>iocpi1i; rps- of Proviiifnoe 
heen viiidiciited in ihe evetils of iho la-t toui' \fars'! Tiuly "ihp 
iooMshiiPSS of Gorl i> wiser ihaii idhh, and lite weakti^ss of (intj i> slrooi^pr 
thnn men ;" " '' e. wliai miirht sppio io be (Jpfeciive ia eiliier wisdoiu 
or strpngth, is vet jusiili-^d by the rpsnh. 

The ijraiiiJ result of the prnspnt wai' i-; tlip wipjnw aul ofthe blot of 
■slavery from our national esLiUciuoii. P.iil how \vasih:*< nccotnplishpd'.', 
For lonu vpais our wi^s^t Htaipsoien. ou.' niosi earnewl philanthropists, 
our f»rofounde.*t lliiokers, haii uivpti to iho prohlpm of the «:nfe extinction 
of slavery their mo-t careful >-lU'iv ; hot all was to no purpose, even 
though some nipddle>ome friends aurns^ the Ailanlip. vt)luiitt'ered their 
advice. When Mr. Lincoln ass()inpd ihe rein>j of frovernment, the 
soluiion seenien to have baffled hinnai! wisdom, and he himsplf was as 
nuich in the dark as any on(> (-li^e. See liow blindly he yroped h'.s way 
ulong, 

" But fnrtlier wnj' foi; id none, so ihick eiitwiaeJ , 
As out ooniiuii."ij biai^e, thf' ucidergiowlli 
Orslirubs and t.iniilinii oiij^lies had i)rrplexe(l 
All paili ofiiiuii (,r lit-asi iliat piissed tliat way." 

''Mr. Lincolx was naiurally mimical to the system of Slavery, anfl 
had at an early (leriod prociamied it as his opinion that " the fiO'Vern- 
nienl would not endure permanonlly hall slave and half free. It wilil 
become all one thing or the other." But he was sirietly conservative. 
He desired to respect the compromises of the Constitution and of Con- 
}^res.-ional legislation. But in spite of his moderation and his pledges, 
the Rebellion burst out. '['hey could not wait to see vvhelher he would 
be as good as iiis word. His election was provocation enough. And 
before his imbecile predecessor in office had retired, the heart of the 
South was sufEoienily fired to proclaim its independencp, and a hostile 
array separuied the national capital from the Northern Stales, and 
menaced assiassination to the new President, who only succeeded in 
entering VVa>hingtori in disguise and under cover of tlie night. Stilly 
even after war had begun, and opposing armies were arrayed against 
each other in the south and in the west, a temporizing policy was 
pursued. The Hutchinsons were expelled from the Army of the 
Potomac for singing abolition songs, and Fremont was displaced in 
Missouri tor issuing an Emancipation Proclamation prematurely ; as 
Hunter was cen«;urpd in the South. Mr. Lincoln's first step was 
tentative. He proposed the abolition of slavery in the year 190U ; and 
next, the abortive plan of African colonization in Central America. 
Then came the march of events, that showed the folly of sparing the 
negro laborers who provided food for the army while their vvhite masters 
were figluing in the front. Then came the first Emancipation Proc- 
lamation, giving three months to come in, on peril of the termination of 
Slavery on the approaching New Year's day. The rebels laughed it to 
«corn. So the President was le;i along, as by an unseen hand, from 
step to step, till J he arming of the negroes was icsolved upon ; which 



(i|r rii'i, iKM-!; 



t-ikd 200.000 aul" l.udi.Mi u.on u, il,. m.m,,,-- ..I ll,- [ „. -v. U hrrrw, 
mearmie. ol ih. Ui.i-.n l,.v.. Mn.. „„,.. ii-.v hav- carnt^cJ lOeriou,. 
..viil, ihen.. Piaciio.llv, liip i.eouh,., in.iiiulioi. is ul a., end. l" molly. 
vhf H.n»^.l.iniPn< lo Uw Uui.>muno,. Iw.s be.-,, or.i.-ed hv acl ol Cong.e...- 
rr, hH s.ih.i.illeMi 10 ihft |.eopU ot li.e .se^vftral Male.s ; ami llie decision o.^ 
;.h^ vex«d qiiestiori is now clearly seen lo lu^ a in-ro q4.esuoo of ti.n-v 
Fvpry l.oly looks upon lvnanci|)aiion a-, un-fnil accomi)ll, a iliii.-r not lo 
he reversed. The sione is rolled away Iroo, llie n.oial, ol ihe s^.ulcl...', 
and with it has b-en n.lU^d. aAs ay onn r>>(.ioacli. 

Bui in all this i.is:orv he nnis! be blind w |,o does not sec I ki. air 
invisible ban I w,. ^uidin,^ ll.o Piv.idonl, and sl.apin^ Ibe .noslimp.r- 
,ant evenis bv hio. as a dncil- a,enl and instrUM.enl J He loade.h- 
,be blind i,. a-wav tb-y know noi." Wben the bands of Nortbern men^ 
were lied up bv" vmioos co,npr<„..i-.<-.s, vvi.se or ull.erw..e, u ben Ineif 
wi.don. WAS utterly al U.nll lo devis- a way ol cx;ricalion onl of onr 
ttluck-coming difficuliiHs, God look lb. ni.uier u.uler bi. own providen- 
Ual disposal, " because be bad a lavor lo ns." . Or ralber, be ai-owed. 
vheSouih tolake ibe n.aiter inio ih.ir o>vn band., he permitted ihe 
M)iril of infauiation lo delnde then., so , bat they tlien.selves- untied ihe 
arms of the North, voloniarily r«ade themselves outlaws, con.M.mted po. 
niical suicide, and prepared li.e way tor ibe total loss ui ,h = t property l.. 
Ln iur which the LcesMon .as inau.ura.ed an.i the horrors of war 
.nadly evoked. Thus the nroblem is solver], and ibe reproach l.s Nv.ped- 
awav, wiihoui any aeency .^ ihe North violaiin-. ii8 compact.s, or in.lu 
a.tina th« process. "' k is" the Lord's dun^^s and it i. n.arvellous m our 

''^ And can we interpret the hand >v riling, on the wall now ? Can Ave 
trace the nncrer of Providence in the recenl occurrences . V\ nile we 
avoid the presumption ot arroaantly divining the lulure a rea.sonable 
latitude is allowed to modest conjecture. Are vye mistaken m fancy- 
i,vr ihal the late appalling event will, under Providence, prove the 
means of bringing all hearts together, as did the assassination ol V\ illi^am,- 
Prince ot Orange;, the means of strengthening the hands of the Gov- 
ernment, and of suppressing for a space the fierce slogans of party 
srdril' Struck bv a common sympathy, that does honor to the noblest 
instincts of humanity, one universal cry ol horror we^nt up from all parts- 
of the land. Solithern men them.selves, (like Gen, hwell,) deplored the 
crime, as the worst thing that could have happened lo the bouth a. 
well as to the North. " It was worse than a crime, U was a blunder ! 
It will have the effect of making southern sympathizers ashamed of the 
company they have kept. It will drown the antipathies o. Lurope, (as 
we see it is already doing in the Briiish Provinces,) where the assas.na- 
tion of kin.rs and high functionaries is regarded as even more horrible 
than with us, from their innate reverence for rank, and from their more 
intimate acquaintance with the evils ot the crime. 

1 have been tempted to think that perhaps Providence saw the neces- 
sity of more stringent measures for the repression of"^ rebellion and the 
exemplary punishment of traitors, and allowed, the fasce^s ot authority 
the axe and the rod, to devolve into sterner hands. On x\ns ^o^.il 
shall only observe, that the progress of war aniong us has led us back 
to the studv of the Old Testament and the Psalms ot David, and has 



iil 'illK ilK.S^ONS Of TMV, HdljR 

wiio^iii us many (orgntit'U thills ilit^re ili;it are uppliciibK- to our own' 
liiiips. MuiiV of tlie severe exiires>ifiii.s ilieio touiid, and \vliic;h [jcoplt^ 
hud taiiL-ied olisolele, now cf)iiie ii|i wiili i(ici"ea>eMl !oic;e and sin<;u!ar 
(ieniuenae, U' e are re.volvinjr iIih qiieaiion wlieiher Umijiv to ciiniiiials 
is meirjy 10 the Slale, or even ju^lice to the jieojile, at> our new Presi- 
dent has iniiinaied. 

111. A third le.^son oi'iiie hour, is, Uw Barharisvi of Slavery, the Su'- 
yeriorilyoj Free, lustilhti oris, and the advantages of the ISational Union. 

It lias not been torirniien how Charles Sumner, in scathing elcquence, 
f'X|)Osed the IJarbarism o( Slaverv ; and how imiriedialely alter, Brooks, 
a Sdiiihern j^entleman, assaulted liim al his desis, durinjr recess, and so' 
hurt him'aboui the head that it took a year to recovfr from its efTecKs ; 
and how 1 lie ladies of his native county nnade Brooks a public present ot a' 
•rokihfad^d cane, as a proof of their estimation of his manly act. All 
this served unconsciously as ihe oppendi.vio Mr. Sumner's speech, bv 
way of ilhisiiation; as if he liad iioi made the ease plain enough' 
already. And so il went on. Oije horror was piled on another, one 
outrage on another, still worse ; the mutilation ol the dead, the except. 
in|j of the officers of cf)lored troops irom the rules of civilized warfare,- 
the massacre of Fort Pillow, the atrociiies of Port Hudson, the guerilla 
iryslem, the systematic starving to death of Northern prisoners, tnaking^ 
raids from Canada on unarmed villages for the sake of plunder, seizing 
peaceful steamboats, firing crowded hotels and places of amusement in 
large cities, poisoning reservoirs, distributing clothing infected with' 
yellow (iever; — why, it seems to tne, if T were to narrate all these 
atrociiies, not with any aid of rhetoric, but simply in their minute and' 
truthful details, there would rise a yell of execration enough to lilt the 
roofofi", threats of inextinguishable vengeance. But I forbear. And' 
all these de^ds, and more, culminated in the recent assassination of the 
President, tlie attempted assassination of the Secretary of State and his 
son, and the concerted assassination, as there is reason to believe, of all' 
the Heads of Department, the Vice Pies>ident ^included. This last 
dastardly act could only have beeri prompted by pure vindictiveness, as^ 
there was no object to be gained by it. ll was \\id revengeful tearing 
and rending by the demon on his e>;[)uIsion. 

In striking contrast with the Barbarism of Slavery, stand out the 
S"uperiority of Free Institutions, and the advantages of the blessed 
National Union. Tliis superiority has been evinced during the progress- 
of the war, in point of intelligence, military skill, material resources,- 
commercial enterprise, financial ability, and moral worth. On the con- 
trary, the dependence of the South, and its hel|)lessness, have become 
more patent with the lapse of lime ; and as il had no resources of 
industry or trade to supply ihe continual drain, its financial condition 
was reduced to a hopeless wreck. The South is bankrupt in men, 
means and money ; while the North stands up this day, after i:s enor- 
mous losses in blood and treasure, fresh, vigorou.s and unexhausted. 
But aside from these general remarks, we perceive the excellence of 
our institutions in the ease with which the administration is shifted into 
new hands, without the loss of a day or the loss of a dollar. Not even' 
tlie^death^by violence of the Chief Magistrate produces the slightest jar or 



■ I'HE LESSON'S OF THE HOUR. Ill 

Gonftision, an evenl which in monarchical countries would be ihe signal 
lor anarchy. For, says Story, " it has grown inio a general practice 
for the Vice President to vacate the Senaiorial chair a short lime before 
the termination of each session, in order to enable the Senate to choose 
a President pro tempore, who might already be in office, if the Vice 
I^'esident, in the recess, should be called to the Chair oC State." This. 
'•' prevents the choice from bein<r influenced by temporary exeiiemoni& 
or intrigues, arising from, the actual existence of a vacancy."* It is 
fairly presumable that in case of the Vice President also being dead, 
the President ;jro tern, of the Senate would at once succeed to his func- 
tions, at least until Congress could be convened. 'I'hus the assertion 
hpfore made, that the allem-pted assassioalion of the chiel oflicprs of 
government was nothiing but pure spite and revenge, and could have 
lerl to no practical result, is abundantly veiified. 

It was only under Frt^e I nsi it u tions that such men as the lat" President 
and the prespiit President could have had a chancp to rise to oflice and in- 
(iupnce. Mr. Lincoln began life as a fanner's boy, Mr. Johnson as an- 
apprentice. Neither had any early adviintages of educa.lioh, the latter 
did not know even hovv to read till nearly grown up, and his education 
was carried on beyond the elementary stages afterwards by his wife. 
What was the secret of their wonderful rise? Industry, indomitable 
perseverance, and pure moral principles. 

Tliere are many more points I should like to enlarge upon, but I 
have already exceeded the limit which I had marked out tor myself. 
I must th'^refbre hasten on. 

IV. A fourth lesson of the hour \s,'Hu)niUly, 

Death dissolves all distinctions, and confounds all ranks. Let the 
remembrance of our having sprung from the dust, and the necessity of 
returnini; to the dust again, preserve us from those haughty, domiueer- 
in.r, supercilious airs, which the possession, or landed [losses^ioo, oh 
wealth, of talent, of be.iuty, of gentility, of ollice, of rank, nl boeial 
position, sornetimes seems to beget in mmtals. Shall dust and asil^ s. 
be vail) ? Shall dust be conceited and mouth the heavens'? Shall dii-i 
set itself up contemptuouslv abovp its fellov/. dust ? All sprang f:oiri 
the came level, and to that same level shall all be re-con iucted. Dusi l\ 
be humble. 

'Ihe whole tissue of circu.m<t!iaicps in the late distre«'<ing tragedy is 
calcu'ated to humiliate u.s. There is scarcely a consolatory ray among, 
thrm all. Contemplate the sudden check given to the wilde.st rejoic- 
ii)^<, tlie sharp and rovoliing contrasj between the < -.x^iherance ot exul 
tation and the very nadir of grift, the hand by which the parricidal 
blow was struck, the very time and place of the catastrophe, and you 
will find enouirh to jir apon the feelini^s. As a Chiis;ian minister 
sppaki.ig to a Christian congregation, I cannf>t refrain from saying, that 
I would the blow had fallen in some other way, if fall it must ; and 
tiial the associations had been more august, more holy, more worthy of 
the digiiitv of ofiije. and of a Cliris:ian people's remembiance. I 
vwo'ild tlie illustrious victim had met his fate on the field of battle when 



*ritory on the Consliiulion, chap. .\ p. 7.6, 



12 THE LESSONS OF THE HOUR. 

!ie uas al the front ; or like Chaiham and Adams in the iinlls of ihe 
iiaiioiicii letiislalure ; or like Henry IV, of France, in a piiljlic piocc-s- 
ipii ; or like Secretary Seward, upon his bed ; or like Tiionia^! 
Decket, on his knees at prayer. 'I'hen we would have canonized 
his niernory as a blessed sainl, as well as a ninriyr to jusiice and hu. 
inanity. Knt as far as earthly fame <;oes, hi; has enough. IJis nani<^ 
will Ijfj echoed in loieij^n lands. It will he a historic name ihrnuuh 
iuture a^es, Men will recite the difliculties he surinour.ted, the suc- 
cess he achiovpd. the suppression of treason and rebeliion, and ;he 
einanci|)alion of four millions ol hitman beings, 

\''. The only ofuM- Ipsson of tiie liour 1 can notice, is, an admonition 
to (nisi ill Divine Frovidence. 

The stay and the slafl'tnay bo broken ; our earthly props may he 
removed, one alter another ; vve may be reduced to orphanage and 
helplessness ; yei must we not despair of the divine proiection. Such 
a condition are vve |daced in at presfnt. We are jnsl emerging from 
a four years' war. Great interts s are at stake, and require to be 
delicately and judiciously liandlpd. 'i'lie position of the naiions of the 
world is a critical one. It is that of a volcano cupped for a time, while 
raging fires are boiling tumultuonsly within. Our relations u itli lor^i-^ 
nations are by no n)ea!)s adjisied on the most stable basis. l".lprf-i's 
o! vast and vital imporiance denund a Palinurus at the helm, ill can 
we spare the skilKul and exptrienced helmsman at the very mon.ent 
when the darkness g-athers and the breakers ar« roaring. 

" Hailst thou hill liv,-d, though stripped of power, 
A svutohinaii on ihe lonely tower, 
Thy tlirilliiig trump had roused ihe land, 
^^'hen fraud or danger were at hand. 
By thee, as by the beacon light. 
Our pilots had kept course ariuht ; 
As some proud colunni, th()u>ih alone, 
,, 'Thy strength had propped the tottering throne ; 

Kow is the stately column broke, 
Tne beacon- light is quenched in smoke ; 
The trumpet's silver sound is still ; 
The warder silent on the hill " * 



SomGlimes God snatches away the pillar of the Stale, as he does t";;e 
Drop of a family, to show us how unwise it is to lean too much o;i 
earth, to wean away our doting and idolatrous atlection frou) the crea- 
ture and fasten it upon its proper object and centre. That Providence 
which has watched over us so long, will surely not forsake us now. 
Let "the mighty man, and the man of war, the prophet, and the pni- 
dent, and the ancient, and the eloquent orator," be tuken away ; it we 
forfeit not the favor of the Lord, rum shall be far from q-J, It is 
certainly a pleasing, no: a presuftipiuous, thought, that after subjecting 
the i;aiional ciiarf.cier to severe tests, chastening us to keep out vain 
i^lorv, and training the naliSnal con^cipnce, God may intend to elevate 
us to a iiigher jilane than we have hitherto reached, and make us l:ie 
world's model, as he lias made us the world's wonder. 

^-^Scoifs .Mainuon, Litrod. c, i. The lines were wriiien in reiereuce to Piit. 



